Adjusting device for variable-speed driving mechanisms



Jan. 15, 1929. r 1,699,466

I H. P. FOWLER ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR VARIABLE SPEED DRIVING MECHANISMS Filed Sept. 1, 1926 2 SheetsrSheet l f/HRRY P. 1 0 W1. Elq

. Q i N INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Jan. 15, 1929.

H. P. FOWLER ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR VA RIABLE SPEED DRIVING MECHANISMS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 1926 Patented Jan. .15, 1929.

NITED STATES 1,699,466 PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY P. FOWLER, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WATERBURY TOOL COMPANYi, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR VARIABLE-SPEED DRIVING MECHANISMS.

Application filed September 1, 1926. Serial No. 132,914.

My invention relates to plants comprising a plurality of machines each having its own driving mechanism yet normally operated simultaneously. For instance, in paper making plants the material under treatment is in continuous motion and passes successively from one of a series of machines to the next. In plants of this character, it is desirable that provision should be made for adjusting the speed of all the machines simultaneously and preferably equally, and that there should also be a separate provision for adjusting the speed of any one of such machines individually, without affecting the speed of the other machines. It is further important, in many cases, that both the individual speed. adjustment and the simultaneous speed adjustment of all the machines should be of such character as to enable the changes or variations to be made very gradually. Hydraulic drives are par ticularly suitable for obtaining very gradual changes of speed and accurate adjustments. I prefer to use, for the purposes of my in- 2 .vention, hydraulic gears or driving mecha nisms of the type manufactured by The Waterbury Tool Company anddisclosed in various patents, for instance United States Letters Patent of Harvey D. Williams No.

925,148 dated June 15, 1909 and No. 1,044,- 838 dated November 18', 1912.

A satisfactory and preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a' multiple unit drive provided with my duplex speed adjusting device; Fig. 2 is an elevation'of one of the units shown in Fig. ,1, looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in Figs. 1 and 3, with parts in section; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation of two ofsaid units, looking in the direction of the arrow 3- in Figs. 1 and 2, with parts in section.

At 10 I have indicated a plurality of pumps of the character of those disclosed in the Williams patents referred to above. Each pump comprises a suitable casing in which is journaled the shaft'll driven continuously by any suitable mechanism (for instance, an electric motor, not shown) connected with such shaft. as by a clutch indicated at 12, or in any other suitable manner. With this shaft rotates the barrel 13 having longitudinal cylinders 14 in which are adapted to reciprocate the pistons '15 connected by rods 16' with,a swash plate 17 adapted to be placed either perpendicular to the shaft 11, or at an angle thereto,- by rocking the race or track 18 of said swash plate about an axis 19 transverse to said shaft, all according to the principles disclosed in the patents referred to above. The

swash-plate is connected with the shaft so,

as to rotate in unison therewith. The ends of the cylinders 14 opposite to the swash plate have ports adapted to communicate alternately, during-the rotation of the barrel. with two segmental ports 20, 21, in the end plate of the pump casing, one of these ports being a suction port and the other a delivery port, their functions depending on the direction in which the barrel rotates.

By pipes 22, 23 said ports are connected vitli' 15 will not reciprocate, and there will be no.

flow of the oil or other liquid through the pipes 22, 23, and the motor adapted for operation by such fluid will remain at rest. If, however, the swashplate race 18 is inclined, the pistons 15 will be caused to re ciprocate so that the fluid will pass out through one of the pipes 22 or 23, operate the fluid motor and return to the pump through the other pipe 23 or 22. The great? er the inclination of the race 18, the greater will be the velocity of the fluid in the circulation path, and the greater the speed of the motor operated by the. fluid propelled by the pump. The inclination of the race 18 is adjusted, for instance, by providing thereon, to one side of the shaft 11 a fork 18' into which fits slidably a block 25 provided with a in 24 projectingv as a pivot into a vertical y guided slide 26 at the lower end of a rod 26. The latter is connected with an aligning rod 26 by a joint 27 of such character that the two rods are compelled to move lengthwise in unison, but the rod 26 will be allowed to rotate independently of the rod 26, the latter having only a longitudina-l motion.

Two separate mechanisms are provlded for operating the rods 26' of the several devices in such a manner as to move the slides 26 lengthwise to Vary the inclination of the corresponding swashplate races 18 One of these mechanisms is constructed to adjust all the slides 26* in unison, while the other mechanism provides for the individual adjustment of each of the slides, or more strictly speaking, there are as many of individual mechanisms of this second kind as there are individual machines to be controlled. In the embodiment illustrated, each of the rods 26 is made with a screw thread 26 in engagement with a corresponding internal thread on a member 28, held against axial movement and here shown as the hub portion of a wheel provided at its periphery .with worm teeth 28 in mesh with a worm 29,

the worms of the several machines or units being in axial alignment and mounted rigidly on a shaft 30 common to all of them. This shaft is normally stationar but may be rotated by means of a ban wheel 31, or in any othersuitable manner. Each of the rods 26 is also adapted to be rotated individually, for instance by means of a handwheel 32 which as shown is adapted to rotate the rod through a second worm 33 and worm wheel 34 or which maybe secured to such rod rigidly, or at least held to turn therewith.

By turning the handwheel 31, all the worms 29 (which are alike in construction,-

as are also the several other parts of the units) are rotated to turn all the worm wheels 28, 28' with equal effect. As the said worm wheels are held against axial movement, the rotation of the hub portions or nuts 28 will cause the rods 26' to move lengthwise or axially, the threads 26" on said rods and those on the nuts 28 being of i proper pitch to insure such action. By this operation, therefore, the swashplate races 18 of the several units will be adjusted equally in unison and all the machines operated by said units will be given at least approximately the same speed. When it is found that to obtain the proper operation,

.one of the machines should be speeded up or slowed down relatively. to the others, the handwheel 32 of the respective unit is turned in one direction (for greater speed) or the other (if speed reduction is desired). Since the nuts 28 are held stationary by the considerable resistance of the gearing 28, 29, turning any one of the rods 26 will screw it up or down in its nut 28, and thus, for that one unit only, the inclination of the swashplate race 18, will be altered to increase or decrease the speed of the particular machine controlled by such unit. A very fine and accurate adjustment of the speed of the individual machines is thus obtain able, so as to cause each of them to run at the exact speed required for their proper cooperation. 7

v unison.

While I have described the driving units as pumps of variable output, itwill be obvious that the same results might be obtained by applying the duplex adjusting mechanism illustrated, to the motors actuated by the fluid propelled by pumps of the character above referred to. In this case, the velocity of the liquid circulating through pump and motor would be constant or practically so, but the motors would run faster or slower according to the smaller or greater inclination of their swashplate races. In fact, the accompanying drawings may also be interpreted as illustrating this alternative mode of using my invention, if .the units 10 are taken as representing motors, receiving liquid from a suitable pump or pumps (not shown) through one of the pipes 22, 23 and returning such liquid through the other pipe. The shaft 11 would in this case be the motor shaft transmitting power, as through the clutch 12, to the shaft of the machine to be operated bysuch motor.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the nature of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable drive for a plurality of machines, comprising a plurality of driving units of the type in which a circulating liquid is used for the transmission of power and in which there is employed a swashplate of adjustable inclination to vary the speed at which the respective machine is driven, a slide for each of said units, each slide having operative connections to adjust the inclination of the respective swashplate, a screw rod connected with such slide to be rotatable relatively thereto but compelled to move lengthwise in unison therewith, normally stationary nuts held against longitudinal movement and engaging the respective screw rods, means for rotating said screw rods individually, and mechanism, operatively connected with a plurality of said nuts, for rotating them in unison.

2. An adjustable drive for a plurality of machines, comprising a plurality of driving units of adjustable effect, a slide for each of said units, mechanism associated with said slide to vary the driving effect of such unit as said slide is moved, a screw rod connected with such slide to be rotatable relatively thereto but compelled to move lengthwise in unison therewith, normally stationary nuts held against longitudinal movement and engaging the respective screw rods, means for rotating said screw rods individually, and mechanism, operatively connected with a plurality of said nuts, for rotating them in 3. An adjustable drive for a plurality of machines, comprising a plurality of driving units of adjustable effect, a slide for each of said units, mechanism associated with said slide to vary the driving effect of such unit as said slide is moved, a screw rod connected with such slide to be rotatable relatively thereto but compelled to move lengthwise in unison ,therewith, normally stationary worm 7 wheels held against longitudinal movement and formed at their hub portions as nuts engaging the respective screw rods, means for rotating said rods individually, and a shaft provided with worms engaging a plurality of said worm wheels,

4. A drive for a plurality of machinesor sections of a machine, comprising a plurality of driving units,'one for each machine or section, each of said units being-of the type wherein a circulating liquid is used for the transmission of power and wherein an adjusting device is provided for regulating its speed, characterized by the provlsion of a manually-operable control for actuating each adjusting device independently of the others, each control including a rotatable but normally stationary nut and a manually operable control shaft in screwthreaded engagement with said nut and connecting with said adj usting device and means for actuating all of said adjusting devices simultaneously and in unison including a shaft common to all of said driving units and driving connections a between said shaft and said nuts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my. hand.

HARRY P. FOWLER. 

